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When I was down, when I was hurt
You came to lift me up
- Hymn for the Weekend, Coldplay
“Ivy, I swear to God , if you don’t let me go in the next few seconds, I will blow all of your goddamned plants to pieces,” Jason growled at the woman standing in front of him, her victorious smirk making his blood boil.
He was in a dire situation, chained to the wall of one of Ivy’s labs. Damn her and her stupid plants. Since when did she have one with paralyzing venom? Thank fuck that its effect hadn’t lasted for too long. Jason tugged sharply at his chains, grunting as the steel bit into his wrists.
“Why are you so mean to my babies? That’s not very nice, now is it, Hood?” Ivy tutted as she stroked one of the plants beside her. “Hasn’t Batman taught you to be nicer yet? Or are you still avoiding him and the others?”
Jason snarled in annoyance. “Why the fuck do you care about my relationship with those damn Bats?”
Ivy shrugged and walked over to a broken cupboard on the right. The lab was clearly abandoned, a place even Ivy didn’t frequent. With a grin, she took a small glass container from the shelf and turned back toward Jason.
“You know, Hood, I’m not a psychologist, but I think you’re a very lonely man.”
What. The. Hell . Jason was suddenly grateful for his helmet, hiding the look of pure disbelief on his face. Who the fuck did she think she was?
Before he could voice his outrage, Ivy continued, opening the container to reveal some kind of cream. “Your lack of proper human contact has turned you into a very rude and unkind individual. So, I’ve decided to help you sort that out.”
She finished with a dangerous smile, making Jason’s worry spike. Ivy stepped forward, reaching for his bound hands above his head.
“You don’t mind if I remove your gloves, do you?” she asked sweetly, not waiting for an answer before ungloving his hands and letting them drop carelessly to the dirty tiled floor.
With a sigh, Ivy dipped her fingers into the cream, scooping out a small amount. Setting the container on a nearby table, she used her free hand to hold one of Jason’s hands still.
As soon as he felt her touch, Jason started thrashing in earnest. Like hell was he going to let her put whatever that crap was on him. “Don’t you dare fucking touch me!” he shouted.
“See? So rude ,” Ivy chided, shaking her head as she rubbed the cream into the skin of his wrist. “The product works best if applied around the nose, but you always wear that helmet. Hasn’t anyone told you it’s impolite to obscure your face during a conversation?”
Jason wanted nothing more than to shut her up with a punch to the face, but he was still chained to the wall, helpless as Ivy applied the cream to his other wrist. Within seconds, the skin on his wrists began to burn—not painfully, but enough to send his anxiety skyrocketing. This was bad. Very bad .
“Ah, I see it’s working already. It’s a new prototype, you know? Very exciting when they work on the first try. Now, we just need to let it soak in, and we can’t have you irritating the skin by trying to escape.” Ivy explained as she pulled a syringe from one of the drawers.
At least she sterilized the syringe before approaching Jason again. He continued to struggle, shouting obscenities at her, but nothing worked. Soon, he felt the familiar prick of a needle piercing his skin.
“Don’t fight the serum, Hood. It’s just going to help you take a nap so the cream can do its work. You’ll thank me later,” she said, stepping back with a sly grin.
Dick knew it was normal for Jason to be silent on comms. Bruce hated this radio silence with every fiber of his being, but he also acknowledged there was little they could do about it. At this point, they should be more than happy with the progress they’d made.
Jason had always been more of a lone wolf, and now that he was back in Gotham, it was even more noticeable. At first, his little brother wouldn’t share anything about his nightly activities. But the improvement since then had been huge . Tim had successfully convinced Jason to install their comms system into his helmet, and Dick had practically bullied his younger brother into communicating with them when he needed assistance. Hell, Jason had even started responding to others’ distress calls. If that wasn’t an amazing improvement, then Dick didn’t know what was.
Two weeks ago, a miracle had happened: Jason suddenly appeared in the Batcave one night and wordlessly threw a USB stick at Tim’s head before leaving. The USB contained a detailed record of Jason’s usual patrol routes and schedules, along with a map showing the location of various safehouses he had around Crime Alley. Tim had worn a permanent grin for days afterward.
Yet even though silence from Jason was nothing unusual, Dick couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong. It was a Saturday night, and thanks to that USB stick, they knew Jason should’ve already signed off by now. For some reason, he hadn’t, and it was worrying Dick.
Right now, Dick was cursing the fact that Jason deactivated any tracker they’d tried to put on his suit as he landed on the ledge of a building next to a disgruntled Tim. Bruce had gone inside the building in front of them and had forced Robin to stay outside because of the potential dangers.
“I could’ve gone with him. It’s not like I’m incapable of self-defense,” Dick’s youngest brother grumbled, clearly unhappy.
Dick sympathized with Tim; he really did. After all, Bruce’s overprotectiveness had driven him to Blüdhaven. It was only after Jason’s reappearance that he’d started picking up patrols in Gotham again. Now, he was trying to divide his time equally between the two cities. Nonetheless, he also understood Bruce’s reasoning—this could very well be a trap.
“I know, Baby Bird, but it’s for your own safety,” Dick said, patting him on the back. “Have you seen or heard anything from Hood?”
Tim looked at him, puzzled. “No, I haven’t. Hasn’t he signed off yet? Maybe he has his comms muted and forgot about it.”
Dick pursed his lips, unconvinced. It was a plausible explanation, but something told him this wasn’t the case.
“Wait, Robin, you didn’t happen to attach a tracker to Hood’s suit, did you?” Dick asked.
Tim gave a sheepish smile and ran a gloved hand through his hair. “You can’t tell him about this, but last week he let me update the lenses in his helmet, and I may or may not have put one of our new micro trackers in there while I was at it.”
“Could you check his whereabouts now for me? Just this once , to be safe?” Dick asked with a small, apologetic smile.
“You really think Hood might be in trouble, Nightwing?”
“Yeah, Baby Bird. I have this unsettling feeling that something’s up,” Dick answered with a faint smile.
“Alright.” Tim nodded and tapped on the screen of his watch. Dick watched as Tim’s brows furrowed in confusion before he looked up with wide eyes. “Hood is at one of Ivy’s abandoned labs and has been there for more than an hour.”
“Shit,” Dick cursed under his breath before pressing a hidden button on the side of his domino mask, unmuting himself. “Batman, I’m making a quick detour to one of Poison Ivy’s old labs. Hood might be in trouble.”
Bruce’s grunt was enough of an affirmative reply for Dick. He ruffled Tim’s hair fondly, telling him not to worry and to stay with Bruce before disappearing into the night to find Jason.
The second Jason opened his eyes, he felt freezing agony ripple through his body, tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes. This was horrible. Absolutely excruciating, making him wish he'd installed a panic button on his suit.
As he looked around, he noticed that Ivy had left him alone and turned off the lights in the lab. Fucking bitch . She could’ve at least left those on. Now he was stuck in a dark lab, with only the moonlight streaming through the smashed windows for company.
Gritting his teeth, Jason took a deep breath. This was not the time to panic. He had to get free from these chains, and he had to do it now .
Ignoring the pain coursing through his veins for a moment, Jason inspected the shackles around his wrists. One of the links in the chain had come loose from his previous struggles. If he could disconnect that one, he might be able to free at least one arm. With a sharp tug, he managed to bend the metal, maneuvering the chain connected to his wrist through the gap. Tugging once more, Jason felt his first arm come free, though part of the chain still dangled from it.
Quickly, he used his free arm to break the chain on his other wrist before removing the rest from the first. Massaging the sore skin of his wrists, Jason took a step forward—only to crumple to the floor in pain. Shit , he’d completely forgotten about that issue.
Biting back a whimper, Jason curled up on the cold floor. What the hell had been in that cream? Full-body shivers wracked his frame. Everything was cold. So cold . Just like when he’d woken up in his grave.
Jason inhaled sharply. No . He couldn’t compare the two situations. Not now , not when his head was pounding, and it felt like a thousand freezing knives were stabbing him from the inside.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching. Fuck, was Ivy back? Was she going to finish him off now? He could barely move, let alone fight back. Was this how Tim had felt when Jason had attacked him in the Tower? Jason knew Tim had forgiven him, but the pang of guilt still struck deep.
Silently, Jason tried to shuffle toward the corner and hide behind one of the tables. At least he wouldn’t be out in the open.
“Hood? Little Wing, are you there?” Jason heard Dick’s voice call out.
A million questions raced through his mind. How had Dick even found him? His brother’s footsteps were getting louder, signaling he was close.
“Hood?”
“Yeah? Over here,” Jason rasped, his voice breathless as he bit his tongue to stifle any pained noises.
As soon as he’d answered, Jason saw Dick rush over and freeze at the sight of the broken chains and his gloves on the floor. Wide-eyed, his brother turned toward him before crouching down.
“Little Wing? Are you okay? What happened?” Worry etched deep lines into Dick’s face as he scanned Jason’s body for injuries. He frowned when he found only the irritated skin around Jason’s wrists.
Jason opened his mouth to answer, but all that came out was a pained grunt. Why the fuck did everything hurt so badly?
If Dick had looked worried before, now he was downright terrified as he whispered, “Jay? What’s wrong?”
“Ivy—she put fucking cream on me,” Jason stammered, grimacing.
Dick muttered a curse under his breath before gently grasping Jason’s wrists. As soon as Jason felt his brother’s warmth seep through the fabric of his suit, he let out a surprised gasp. Fuck, that felt heavenly .
His gasp apparently startled Dick, who immediately let go of Jason’s wrists in a panic. The sharp, icy pain returned with a vengeance, tearing a cry from Jason’s lips.
“Little Wing?”
Tears sprang to Jason’s eyes, and he trembled as the agony intensified without Dick’s touch. Taking deep gulps of air, he fought to keep his rising panic at bay. This shit was seriously messing with him. With tears blurring his vision, he shakily removed his helmet and felt it slip from his grasp. Before it could hit the ground, Dick caught it.
Fear and worry were still etched into his brother’s face as he placed the helmet beside Jason’s gloves. Gloves ? When the fuck had Dick picked those up?
Suddenly, Jason felt a warm hand on his forehead, probably checking for a fever. The touch erased the horrific headache he’d been enduring. Letting out a sigh of relief, Jason went limp , tipping forward right into Dick’s arms.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard his brother grunt as he caught his full weight. Jason couldn’t bring himself to care, not when Dick’s touch felt so good .
By now, Dick had sat down on the floor, holding him curled up against his chest. As Jason felt his brother’s chin rest on top of his head, he hummed contentedly. Finally , he wasn’t freezing or hurting anymore.
Dick was a mixture of terrified, baffled, and confused all at once. It was safe to say that this was not what he’d expected when he entered the abandoned lab. Never in a million years could he have predicted that he’d be sitting on a dirty tiled floor with his little brother curled up in his lap. It was something akin to a miracle – but one that was highly worrisome.
Since coming back, Jason had a habit of shying away from all touch. Something had to be seriously wrong for his brother to be cozied up to him like this. Normally, he’d never do this. Not voluntarily , at least.
There was only one explanation that came to Dick’s mind. To test his theory, he gently began to pull away from Jason. Before he could move fully, Jason’s hand shot up, gripping his arm tightly.
“Don’t. Cold. Hurts ,” Jason mumbled, his voice barely audible. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and his face was contorted in pain.
Fuck , Dick was right. Immediately, he pulled Jason back into his arms, hugging him tightly, before unmuting his comms.
“Guys, I have a little situation here,” he said with a nervous laugh.
He immediately heard Bruce grunt in response. “What’s wrong, Nightwing?”
“I’m at the abandoned lab in East Gotham. Ivy dosed Hood with some kind of extreme version of her cuddle pollen,” Dick reported.
Jason was pressed against him, looking up with hooded eyes. Dick was certain his little brother wasn’t fully coherent. He sighed and ran a hand down Jason’s shoulder.
Did he feel bad about enjoying this rare moment of closeness with his brother? Yes . But he was going to take full advantage of the situation and make up for all the missed cuddle sessions over the years.
“Is he okay? Did you find remnants of what Ivy used? Are his pupils dilated? Does his skin have goosebumps?” Robin rattled off questions, his voice a mix of worry and fascination.
“Robin, we can go over that once we get there,” Bruce said sternly. “We’ll be there in ten. Take care of him and yourself, Wing.” The comm line went silent.
“Hang in there, Little Wing. We’ll get you to safety as soon as possible,” Dick murmured into Jason’s hair.
His little brother hummed in response, which was a slight relief – at least he was somewhat coherent. Carefully, Dick repositioned himself and Jason so that he was leaning against the wall, with a clear view of most of the lab’s entrances. Now, all he could do was wait for Bruce and Robin to arrive.
Jason had never felt this comfortable in his entire life. Everything around him was muted; the only thing he could focus on was the warm embrace he was in. No pain. No cold. Just warmth and peace. He occasionally caught bits and pieces of someone speaking nearby, but he chose not to focus on that. Nope. He didn’t know what was going on, but he felt comfy as fuck.
Suddenly, the lights turned on, irritating his eyes. Who the fuck dared to disturb his peace? With a discontented huff, Jason buried his face deeper into the source of warmth surrounding him. He frowned in confusion when he heard a soft cooing sound from above. Weird .
The warmth shook slightly, and Jason started to make out snippets of conversation around him. “-looks like a disgruntled kitten.” “-no visible injuries.” “Said -was cold.” “Nothing -here.” “Batcave.”
As Jason felt hands gently prying him away from the warmth, the agonizing cold returned with full force. No, no, no . He’d been so comfortable. Struggling to get back to the warmth, he felt himself being pushed into another source of it. Huh , this was nice too.
He felt himself being lifted, as if he were a child, and pressed his face into the warmth in front of him, which oddly resembled the crook of a neck. Wait, what ? Somewhere inside, a voice screamed at him to get away from the person holding him.
Blearily, Jason cracked an eye open. Wait, when had he closed them? The person hugging him wore all black and had a weird cowl thing over their head. Funny. Not funny , the inner voice screamed. Get away! But Jason just hummed, ignoring the voice. Who did it think it was, anyway? He relaxed into the arms holding him. Safe . He felt safe.
As he was carried out of that horrible lab, Jason heard three voices talking amongst themselves again. A car door opened, and he whined at the loss of contact as he was maneuvered into the back seat. His sharp headache immediately made itself known.
“-touch you?” he vaguely heard the youngest voice beside him.
Jason nodded deliriously. As long as the pain went away again, he honestly didn’t care . The moment he nodded, he saw a smaller figure climb onto his lap. What was a kid this young and small doing outside this late ? Grumbling at the carelessness of the kid’s parents, he hugged the child close. Now he’d killed two birds with one stone – the kid was safe in his arms, and his own body had stopped hurting.
Feeling the child’s breathing slow, Jason looked down. When had Tim ended up cuddled up with him ? Oh, right. Tim was the kid. Well, Baby Bird was safe now. Jason decided he’d protect him, just before his own eyes closed and darkness overtook him.
Tim felt someone gently, albeit rudely, shaking him awake after what he’d decided was the best sleep he’d ever had in his entire life. Annoyed, he swatted the hand away, only to snuggle deeper into Jason’s amazing embrace. Wait, what ?
His eyes snapped open in panic as he realized what had happened. Oh, shit. He’d fallen asleep cuddling a drugged-up Jason in the Batmobile. Once his older brother was better, Tim was certain Jason would not be happy with him. Stupid touch starvation.
“Hey, hey, don’t pull away, Baby Bird. It’s okay. You’re fine ,” Dick’s soothing voice attempted to calm him. Unfortunately for Tim, it was working too well, as he felt his eyelids droop again. Why was he so tired ?
“Tim, when was the last time you slept properly? I mean a full eight-hour night’s sleep,” Bruce asked, moving around to their side of the vehicle.
Blinking away the sudden wave of fatigue, Tim pursed his lips in thought. “Seventy-two hours? Maybe eighty-six, actually.”
Bruce sighed and pulled off his cowl. “You’re benched until you get some good sleep,” he said with a stern look. “And don’t even think about rolling your eyes and telling me that coffee keeps you awake. It isn’t healthy, Tim, and you know that just as well as I do.”
Tim huffed. “Yes, yes. But—”
“ No buts .”
Dick suddenly grinned. “How about we tuck you and Jay into bed after getting all the samples we need?”
Tim’s eyes widened as he quickly shook his head. Jason would kill him once he was better.
Bruce grunted something that sounded like agreement before instructing Dick to carefully lift Tim out of the Batmobile. Tim frowned – he was perfectly capable of getting out of the car himself. But Dick did as instructed and then stepped aside so Bruce could lift Jason out. Jason whimpered at the loss of contact, the pain probably overtaking his senses again, but miraculously stayed asleep. Bruce set Jason down on one of the medical cots in the Batcave and motioned for Dick to place Tim next to Jason.
As Dick gently laid Tim next to Jason, he pried the domino masks off both Jason and him before whispering, “Go to sleep, Baby Bird. We’ll take care of everything.” After ruffling Tim’s hair, Dick turned back to Bruce, and the two men began speaking quietly.
Tim craned his neck to look up at Jason, who was still peacefully asleep. Unable to fight off the urge to sleep, he sighed and pressed himself close to his brother. Before he knew it, his mind was dragged into unconsciousness.
art by: disastertwins9000 AKA avi <3
When Jason woke up, the first thing he noticed was the weight on his chest and the IV in his arm. Looking down, he frowned at the sight of Tim peacefully sleeping, cuddled up to him. Just as he prepared to shove the kid off with an angry snarl, he remembered what had happened the night before. Oh, for fuck’s sake .
Sagging back into the pillows, Jason moaned internally about his bad fucking luck. It was now noon, and he was lying in one of the manor’s guest rooms. Someone must have changed both his and the kid’s clothes after he’d fallen asleep.
Fuck Ivy. Fuck her cuddle cream abomination. And fuck his godawful family.
Without waking Tim, Jason quietly removed the IV and crawled out of bed. Time to get the hell out of here.
The second he stood up, he hissed in pain. Unlike the freezing, stabbing agony from last night, this pain felt more like his ribs had been cracked and replaced with shards of ice. A huge improvement, really, but it still had him clutching his rib cage.
“Master Jason, it is good to see you awake. I shall fetch Master Bruce,” Alfred’s voice rang out from the doorway. Jason hadn’t even noticed him entering.
“Alfie, hey,” Jason greeted with a faint smile. “You really don’t have to get Bru—”
He was cut off by Bruce himself entering the room. With a polite nod, Alfred stepped out and closed the door behind him.
“How are you feeling, Jaybird?” Bruce asked quietly, mindful of the still-sleeping Tim.
The awkward attempt at breaking the tension made Jason snicker. “As you’d expect after getting drugged by a lunatic bitch.”
“Has the pain lessened? This must have been Ivy’s newest and strongest version of her cuddle pollen. The usual antidote didn’t work, so we had to quickly develop a new one.”
“It’s manageable now,” Jason hummed noncommittally. He only wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Bruce either didn’t pick up on Jason’s dissatisfaction or chose to ignore it. “Did you wake up just now?”
“Are we playing 20 Questions, Old Man?” Jason snapped.
With a sigh, Bruce sat down in one of the leather chairs by the bed. “Look, Jason, I know you’d rather be anywhere else than here with me, but the pollen’s effects will last a few more days, though milder. I’d prefer if you stayed here and let us help you, even if you hate us. I don’t want you in pain for the next few days, Jaybird.”
“I—I don’t hate you,” Jason sighed, leaning against the wall. “I don’t like you either. But—it’s complicated .”
“You can take all the time you need. I’m just glad to see my son alive.”
Damn the old man, Jason thought, watching a single tear slide down Bruce’s face – a rare display of vulnerability. This was what he wanted, right? Batman vulnerable and at his mercy. Maybe not exactly this way, but it came pretty close, didn’t it?
So why didn’t he feel euphoric? Why the fuck did he feel bad for the bastard in front of him?
Deep down, Jason knew he missed Bruce - more than he’d like to admit. He also knew he secretly enjoyed spending time with the two he’d begrudgingly accepted as his brothers.
As the ache in his chest grew, Jason decided to screw everything for once and rushed forward into his adoptive father’s arms. Climbing into Bruce’s lap, he clung to the man’s shirt, tears blurring his vision.
“Oh, Jaybird , I’m so sorry I failed you. So sorry .”
That was all Jason needed to finally let go and start sobbing, releasing all the emotional pain he’d been carrying since emerging from the Pit.
“Dick, don’t you dare ,” Bruce threatened gruffly.
“Aw, come on, B! Just one picture!” Dick pleaded, holding up his phone with a grin.
“You said the same thing two pictures ago. Quit it, or I’m benching you.”
Dick’s mouth dropped open in shock. “So, benching us is our version of being grounded?” He asked, flabbergasted. “You can’t even do that! I’m a legal adult.”
Crossing his arms, he shot Bruce a sly smile. Take that , Old Man.
Bruce let out an exasperated breath before motioning with his head. “Just join us, Dick. I know you want to. You already got your pictures.”
With a grin, Dick glanced at the two teens pressed into their adoptive father’s sides. A rare but welcome sight. Nodding toward Jason’s sleeping form, Dick asked, “Did he get in willingly after your little talk?”
Bruce didn’t question how Dick knew about their conversation and answered without missing a beat. “The antidote combating the pollen is wearing him out, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. Our talk was… emotional , which tired him out even more.”
Humming, Dick padded over to Tim’s side of the bed, gently crawled in behind his younger brother, and draped a blanket over both of them. Tim let out a contented sigh at the comforting presence of his brothers and father.
“I’m glad you two got your heads out of your asses, B,” Dick murmured quietly, burying his nose in Tim’s hair.
“Watch your language,” Bruce chided softly before adding, “Me too, chum. Me too.”
Dick watched as his adoptive father slowly drifted off to sleep. Personally, he wasn’t able to rest just yet. Some part of him wanted to keep watch over his family, to protect them in their most vulnerable state.
Smiling, he silently thanked Ivy. Could she have done this in a better and less stressful way? Absolutely. But it did bring the Wayne family back together. Maybe now they could finally convince Jason to let Bruce “ realive ” him officially. Best case scenario, Jason might even go by Todd-Wayne again. Dick could only dream .
Next, Bruce should finally call up his attorneys and adopt Tim. Screw the kid’s parents – Tim was going to be a Wayne . It wasn’t like his little brother’s birth parents were ever home anyway.
Dick relaxed at the sound of his family’s rhythmic breathing, wishing this peaceful moment would never end. He couldn’t wait to print out the pictures he’d taken of Bruce cuddling with his little brothers. They were adorable. Too adorable not to hang on the fridge. Alfred would definitely want some copies for his not-so-secret family album, which he treasured even more than his fancy cookbook collection.
A while passed before Dick noticed Jason groggily lifting his head and looking around in confusion. When his eyes landed on Dick awake and in bed with them, his little brother let out a quiet curse.
“You good, Little Wing?” Dick asked softly, mindful not to wake the others.
Before Jason could answer, his stomach grumbled loudly . A laugh escaped Dick as he carefully crawled out of bed. “Let’s get you some food, then.”
He watched as Jason gently detached himself from Bruce and padded towards the door. Goosebumps spread over Jason’s arms as a shiver ran through him. Dick didn’t know if it was the pollen or not, but it didn’t matter as he quickly shrugged off his navy hoodie and tossed it to Jason.
Catching it with a grumpy frown, Jason looked back at him with an unimpressed expression. “I’m bigger than you, in case you forgot, Dickhead.”
“Then it’s a good thing this is B’s hoodie,” Dick smirked as he walked by, opening the door.
He could practically hear Jason roll his eyes before following him into the hallway and down to the kitchen. Alfred was already there, preparing dinner – some kind of ridiculously fancy curry, if Dick recalled correctly.
“Hey, Alfie. Jason would like some long overdue breakfast if that’s possible.”
Alfred looked up from grinding spices, nodded at both of them with a smile. “Would blueberry and banana pancakes suffice, Master Jason?”
“Those would be perfect, Alfie. Thanks,” Jason replied gratefully as he sat down at the kitchen table with a small whimper.
Dick took the seat next to him, watching as Alfred placed two steaming mugs of tea in front of them.
“Does it still hurt?” Dick asked quietly, noticing Jason squirming in his chair.
Jason grunted in affirmation before elaborating. “Feels like someone’s repeatedly cracking my ribs and pouring ice water over me. Bruce said it would take a few days for everything to clear out of my system.”
After a moment of hesitation, Dick spoke again. “If- if you want , we could hang out in one of our rooms for a bit? You can read or do whatever you normally do when you’re not on patrol. I promise I’ll leave you alone, but I don’t want you to be in pain.”
An hour later, Jason found himself on Dick’s bed, his head resting on his brother’s shoulder. He was trying to focus on his book, but Dick’s arm around him was distracting. At least, that’s what Jason told himself. In truth, his mind was wandering.
The past 24 hours had been intense – way too intense for his liking. What the hell had Ivy even been thinking?
Jason glanced over at Dick, who was scrolling through Twitter on his phone. Just as promised, his older brother hadn’t bothered him at all since they’d settled onto the bed.
It pained Jason to admit it, but he had missed his family, especially Dick, over the past few months. Now that the Pit Madness was mostly under control, he saw everything more clearly. He understood why Bruce never killed the Joker. He also understood why Dick never attended his funeral. And he understood that Tim had never wanted to replace him.
Jason was still angry about some things, but he was willing to work on forgiving his family, even though some things could never be fully forgiven. After all, he couldn’t deny the warm feeling he got whenever the Bats asked him to join them on family nights or mealtimes.
They might all be big annoyances in his life, but they were his annoyances.
Relaxing into Dick’s side, Jason grumbled to himself about stupid cuddle pollens and idiotic brothers who wormed their way into his heart. Even Tim had found a way to trigger his protective side, and the kid wasn’t even a true Wayne yet .
With a sigh, Jason listened to the tapping of Dick’s phone before turning back to his book.
It was nobody’s business that Jason was officially declared alive again later that week. Nor was it anyone’s business that he decided to keep going by Jason Peter Todd- Wayne . Screw Ivy for her meddling.